OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin,
joined by legislators, district attorneys and business leaders, today announced
an agreement has been reached that will allow six criminal justice reform
measures to advance in this year’s legislative session, as well as develop a coordinating council to oversee future criminal justice reform efforts.

“These reforms are targeted at
nonviolent offenders, many of whom suffer from addiction and mental health
issues,” said Fallin. “The agreement reached is a huge first step forward, moving our
state much closer to our goal of reducing the incarceration crisis while keeping
our communities safe. Though it has been a difficult process of real
compromise, I am extremely proud of our legislators, prosecutors, and leaders
of our business community, all of whom have taken bold action to reduce
incarceration.

“We need to stop
warehousing moms and dads, sons and daughters in prison for long sentences
compared to other states.”

Work on five of the six bills began last
year, but failed to advance. Agreed changes will be made to all six bills, five
of which remain in conference committee.

“Today’s announcement is huge,” said Senate
Majority Floor Leader Greg Treat. “You have district attorneys, legislators,
the governor’s office, and criminal justice reform advocates announcing an
agreement to move forward on significant criminal justice reform. These bills,
if passed, will keep more Oklahomans as productive, taxpaying citizens, and they
will slow down the projected growth in corrections’ cost, resulting in savings
that can be reinvested in education, health care, and mental health programs
that will yield further positive results. I appreciate this diverse coalition
coming together, working through differences and furthering the momentum in
Oklahoma for these important reforms.”

“Today’s agreement
is the result of more than two years of hard work by many different
stakeholders and state and national experts who want to reduce incarceration
rates, reduce crime rates and save taxpayer dollars,” said House Majority Whip
Terry O’Donnell. “These bills are a ‘cookbook’ full of the best data-driven
policies that have been proven to lower crime rates and incarceration rates
throughout the nation, and I believe they will work here, also. This is proof
that people with different ideas and experiences can compromise and work
together to develop solutions to our state’s most pressing problems.”

District
11 District Attorney Kevin Buchanan, president of the Oklahoma District
Attorneys Association, said: “The DAs are pleased to partner with the governor’s
office, leaders of the business community and the State Chamber of Oklahoma,
the courts, the Department of Corrections, the Pardon and Parole
Board, the attorney general’s office and others to enact criminal justice
reforms that promote treatment and rehabilitation while still ensuring public
safety. We continue to urge that funding be provided for upfront mental health
and substance abuse treatment, diversion programs, specialty courts, and other
focused interventions that help an offender get their life back on track and avoid
further criminal activity.”

Business leaders also praised the
agreement.

Supporting criminal justice reform
efforts to strengthen the workforce and protect public safety while decreasing
costs within the state’s budget is a priority of the State Chamber of Oklahoma.

“The
State Chamber of Oklahoma is pleased to support the criminal justice reforms
presented today,” said Fred Morgan, the organization’s president and chief
executive officer (CEO). “This package puts the state on the right path to make
substantial progress in reducing the prison population and ultimately, reducing
the growing costs within the Department of Corrections. Oklahoma cannot afford
to put these reforms off for another year. The business community is proud to
support the beginning of criminal justice reforms, and looks forward to working
on these important issues in the years to come.”

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber has
been a strong advocate for legislation and funding for sentencing reforms and
rehabilitation programs to ease the financial drain on Oklahoma’s criminal
justice system, lessen the burden on jails and prisons across the state and
allow non-violent offenders to enter the workforce more quickly.

“We applaud the state of Oklahoma and
other stakeholders for committing to meaningful criminal justice reform,” Roy
Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, said. “Reform
is a multi-faceted challenge and these initiatives place our state on a path to
see this important issue is properly addressed.”

Legislative action is expected soon on
the following bills:

House Bill (HB) 2281 which would create a tiered
structure for property offenses, based on dollar valuations, with lower ranges
of punishments.

HB 2286, which would create a streamlined
administrative parole, as well as a more comprehensive aging and medical
parole.

Senate Bill (SB) 649, which would target the
nonviolent offenses that are driving up incarceration numbers with a new
sentence enhancement structure for second and subsequent convictions.

SB 689, which would amend the justice safety
valve provision to address long sentences for drug trafficking, and provides
for numerous improvements to supervision;

SB 786, which would create a burglary in the
third degree charge for burglary of vehicles, with a lesser range of
punishment. It also would remove the mandatory minimum sentence for burglary in
the second degree, and;

Pending legislation that would retool the drug structure,
doing away with draconian penalties of the war on drugs, and bases possession
with intent to distribute based on weight.

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Governor Mary Fallin, along with, from left Senate Majority Floor Leader Greg Treat, House Majority Whip Terry O'Donnell, and district attorneys Richard Smothermon and David Prater, on Monday announced an agreement has been reached that will allow six criminal justice reform measures to advance in this year's legislative session, as well as develop a coordinating council to oversee future criminal justice reform efforts.